KEEP THE PREDS IN NASHVILLE, the official thread--we need your help!

Thanks to all those outside of Nashville that have been helping out! And good job to everyone. Keep doing what you're doing. The initial wave of outrage and panic and anger will die down, so we have to keep calling and writing and doing anything we can!

Vince and Amy are season ticket holders, so is Barbara Mandrell. I guess Scott Hamilton is, too, or at least he was at most of the games so I just assume. But yeah if they could do something, or call people they know to help out.

Wouldn't it be nice if Jeff Fisher or someone from the Titans organization were to show some support for the Predators?

As to local politicians...a few nights ago the mayoral candidates were interviewed about the Preds. Buck Dozier and Karl Dean are current season ticket holders. Bob Clement said he was planning on buying season tickets now. Also, I know Adam Dread is a big time Preds fan. Charlie Tygard is on one of the sports councils and a Preds fan.

I'm loving 104's handling of this whole situation. Friday, they declared War! I don't know if this is in the other thread or not, but the other day on 104.5 one of the Council or Chamber memebers was on and he said it was nice to be on our radio for a change and not Toronto. But that he told TO, if this guy is going to try to buy our team and take them, the city of Nashville is going to go after his Research In Motion company to relocate to Nashville. Ha!

And I sent my email...basically saying this is our team and we're not going down without a fight. It was a little long, but I tied in the city's growth with the Preds, I mentioned the new symphony hall and the signature tower and the city connection with the team as ours (from Marian Cisar, Jay More and David Legand to Peter Forsberg and Viktor Sjodin- the first FA transaction/draft pick to the last FA transaction/last draft pick). Oh and I threw in the time when Bettman was here in 03-04 for a Q&A and stood before season ticket holders and promised that he was committed to seeing all 30 teams in their current markets be successful and hopefully he would be giving us the help he promised.

And if Bettman ever empties his voicemail box, I'll give a call, too.

Another idea I had, would it be worth it to also try to contact other teams to urge them to not approve of the sale? They're the ones on the Board of Governors so wouldn't it be helpful to appeal to them also?

However unscientific, of the over 1000 votes at Tennessean.com on the question, "Do you think the Predators will leave town after next season?", the results are as follows:

64% Yes
12.2% No
23.8% Too soon to tell

That's not a very good sign since the poll was taken in the sports section and all that the fans would have to do is average 14,000 paid attendance next year in order to keep the team in the city beyond next season. That's hardly asking a lot for one of the best teams in the NHL.

When Winnipeg lost its team more than 35,000 stormed the City Hall and the fans raised 15 million. Is there a better website than HFboards where you are organizing? I hope so. You should not lose your team if you make the effort.

When dealing with elected officials snail mail and phone calls are the most effective ways to get your message across. Email and websites are counted but a lot of these people roll old school and don't weigh all communication the same. Regular mail weighs a ton.

Vote with your wallets as well. Buying tickets and letting local companies know that you are/aren't doing business with them because of Predator support is another way to be heard.

If you can't fill the lower bowl then get companies with deeper pockets to do it. Call the competition and let them know that you aren't spending with them because their competitor supports the Preds.

I have no idea what local support is really like (aside from all the negative I see in the press like the rest of the fans) so I hope that it doesn't seem like I'm trying to say it's "just that simple" or that it will be easy, but if you need to get tickets purchased to keep the team then the focus should stay on getting that done.

However unscientific, of the over 1000 votes at Tennessean.com on the question, "Do you think the Predators will leave town after next season?", the results are as follows:

64% Yes
12.2% No
23.8% Too soon to tell

That's not a very good sign since the poll was taken in the sports section and all that the fans would have to do is average 14,000 paid attendance next year in order to keep the team in the city beyond next season. That's hardly asking a lot for one of the best teams in the NHL.

When Winnipeg lost its team more than 35,000 stormed the City Hall and the fans raised 15 million. Is there a better website than HFboards where you are organizing? I hope so. You should not lose your team if you make the effort.

GHOST

There's quite a bit of organizing being done at the moment. I've gone from resigned pessimism to cautious optimism upon seeing the reaction of the city itself..as well as the local media and a lot of what i'd call "casual fans." This sort of thing can have a great mobilizing effect, especially when many, including those in power, are taking Balsillie's intentions as a subversive slight to the city of Nashville. It's as if a gauntlet has been thrown.

As for the poll...well...as you said, it's not exactly scientific, especially when taking a glance at the reader comments and you see how many people who participate in the interactive features of the paper, especially when it comes to the Preds, are troll Detroit fans or teenage "TITANS ROOOL PREDZ DROOOL" types. Also...saying that you think the team will move isn't a white flag. Deep down, I still see it happening, but it doesn't mean I won't shed blood to see that it doesn't.

We stand behind Nashville, remember there is always hope that things could work out. The Penguins where close from moving closer than people think but our fan support and shear outrage over the situation pressured everyone into doing the right thing. Never stop believing Nashville fans, because miracles do happen, if we would of never of got Crosby the pens would of probably moved awhile ago, but a miracle happened we got him and a series of all the right events followed which led to the team staying in town for the next 30 years.

Its not over until the moving fans are packed and ready to go ... remember that.

TROLLING WILL NOT BE TOLERATED IN THIS THREAD. Any "move them!" or "you don't deserve a team anyway" type of talk WILL NOT BE TOLERATED in this thread. There is a zero-tolerance policy in effect from here on in. You've been warned.

PLEASE CALL OR EMAIL, EVERYTHING HELPS!

Sorry...I can't jump on your band wagon. If the city of Nashville wants to support the Preds and increase ticket sales, then great....I would love for the team to stay put, BUT if the fan support for such a great hockey team still isn't there and the team is going to continue to lose money, then why not move them to a hockey market where the team will have cheering fans every game and be financially stable. Afterall it is a business and sometimes there has to be business decisions made to turn things around.

The way I look at it is that you had your chance, you had a great team the last 3 or 4 seasons.....a very competitive team at that and there was still no fan support and the team lost so much money that the owner had to sell it. So, why do you think it would be a good idea to keep the team in Nashville and watch it lose more and more money? Sorry, but it just makes no sense.

But with all that being said, good luck in your endevours to keep the team in Nashville!!! If you really want to keep your team, then show that to the league with your emails, phone calls and letter of support.

Sorry...I can't jump on your band wagon. If the city of Nashville wants to support the Preds and increase ticket sales, then great....I would love for the team to stay put, BUT if the fan support for such a great hockey team still isn't there and the team is going to continue to lose money, then why not move them to a hockey market where the team will have cheering fans every game and be financially stable. Afterall it is a business and sometimes there has to be business decisions made to turn things around.

The way I look at it is that you had your chance, you had a great team the last 3 or 4 seasons.....a very competitive team at that and there was still no fan support and the team lost so much money that the owner had to sell it. So, why do you think it would be a good idea to keep the team in Nashville and watch it lose more and more money? Sorry, but it just makes no sense.

But with all that being said, good luck in your endevours to keep the team in Nashville!!! If you really want to keep your team, then show that to the league with your emails, phone calls and letter of support.

But that's the misconception...that there's "no fan support" in Nashville. That's been disproven time and time again. The Predators are in the top tier of the league in terms of fan season tickets, walk-up sales....there's a reason that it's extremely hard to find tickets in the upper bowl...but it's corporate support that's hurt us the past couple of years...which has little to do with on-ice product. If we're to have a shot...we all have to keep going to games, which I think we will...but we need some of the businesses in the community to come BACK, and start filling up the lower bowl again. It's not that hard to hit 14K...if we can get 40-50 businesses to buy blocks of 5 seats, I think we'll hit the number with room to spare.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Monday that even if the sale of the Nashville Predators goes through, the franchise "is not going anywhere." Craig Leipold has signed a letter of intent to sell the Predators to Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie for $220 million after losing $70 million in 10 years of ownership.
The terms of the sale, which must be approved by three-fourths of the NHL's board of governors, call for the deal to be completed by June 30.
Bettman said he met with Balsillie last week and asked whether the co-CEO of Blackberry makers Research in Motion Ltd. had intentions to relocate the franchise.
"He told me that he did not," Bettman said before Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals between Ottawa and Anaheim.
"What's clear to me from meeting with Mr. Balsillie is he's passionate about the game, he'd like to own a franchise and certainly has the resources to do it. Beyond that, there have been no promises, there have been no predictions."

The team stays in Nashville until the lease is up. AKA, all Mr.Balsillie has to do is comp tickets ensuring we don't reach 14,000 paid attendance. He can afford it. And all he has to do is claim he used them to try to get more businesses interested.

Sorry...I can't jump on your band wagon. If the city of Nashville wants to support the Preds and increase ticket sales, then great....I would love for the team to stay put, BUT if the fan support for such a great hockey team still isn't there and the team is going to continue to lose money, then why not move them to a hockey market where the team will have cheering fans every game and be financially stable. Afterall it is a business and sometimes there has to be business decisions made to turn things around.

The way I look at it is that you had your chance, you had a great team the last 3 or 4 seasons.....a very competitive team at that and there was still no fan support and the team lost so much money that the owner had to sell it. So, why do you think it would be a good idea to keep the team in Nashville and watch it lose more and more money? Sorry, but it just makes no sense.

But with all that being said, good luck in your endevours to keep the team in Nashville!!! If you really want to keep your team, then show that to the league with your emails, phone calls and letter of support.

The Preds supposedly lost $60 million in the last 6 years, what most people aren't hearing is that Powers management group made $45 million during the same period. Powers management is the other company that Leipold owns and manages the arena. So he only lost 2-3 million a year including the lock out year. Both companies are being sold.

But that's the misconception...that there's "no fan support" in Nashville. That's been disproven time and time again. The Predators are in the top tier of the league in terms of fan season tickets, walk-up sales....there's a reason that it's extremely hard to find tickets in the upper bowl...but it's corporate support that's hurt us the past couple of years...which has little to do with on-ice product. If we're to have a shot...we all have to keep going to games, which I think we will...but we need some of the businesses in the community to come BACK, and start filling up the lower bowl again. It's not that hard to hit 14K...if we can get 40-50 businesses to buy blocks of 5 seats, I think we'll hit the number with room to spare.

Well by the sounds of it, you won't have to worry about the team moving for a while anyways. Balsillie told Bettman that he did have thoughts about moving the team, but not immediately, so if the corporate fan support increases you won't have to worry at all....if the team does well in Nashville over the next couple of years, I would say the team will remain there. And who knows what Balsillie has up his sleeve to generate fan support....he may be able to make a profit there....we'll have to wait and see. Good luck.

The Preds supposedly lost $60 million in the last 6 years, what most people aren't hearing is that Powers management group made $45 million during the same period. Powers management is the other company that Leipold owns and manages the arena. So he only lost 2-3 million a year including the lock out year. Both companies are being sold.

Not doubting you, but I'm curious to know where you got that number. I have looked over the years and I have found very little specific information about revenue for Powers Mgmt.

"Predators ownership can buy its way out of the team's Sommet Center lease for $18 million next season if the team doesn't average 14,000 fans and if Metro doesn't pay for the difference in unsold tickets."

What exactly is Metro and how likely are they to pay the difference for one year to avoid the lease being broken? Even if your average attendance is lower than 14,000, I can't imagine it being substantially lower which means the cost would probably be manageable as a one-time thing.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there a deadline for the 14,000 thing to come into effect? Basically, if the team exceeds that amount for the next two seasons doesn't it become impossible to use that to break the lease in the future?

Again, I'm sorry if these are stupid questions or my assumptions are wrong.

I haven't paid too much attention to this so I apologize if this question has already been asked.

What exactly is Metro and how likely are they to pay the difference for one year to avoid the lease being broken? Even if your average attendance is lower than 14,000, I can't imagine it being substantially lower which means the cost would probably be manageable as a one-time thing..

Metro is the local city/county government. Whether or not they pay the difference will depend on how the political winds are blowing at that time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sports1131

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there a deadline for the 14,000 thing to come into effect? Basically, if the team exceeds that amount for the next two seasons doesn't it become impossible to use that to break the lease in the future?

I'm new, so apologies. But isn't the corporate support the main problem? The 14,000 ticket is just whether the lease is renewed.

--------quote-----------
Bettman stressed that the corporate support for the team, not individual fan support, was the problem.

“I believe as a percentage of season ticket holders, there are more individuals as opposed to corporate in Nashville than in any of our other markets,” Bettman said. “The economy, the number of head offices, particularly in healthcare and finance, for that part of the country, has changed dramatically since the team has been there.
---------end quote----

Good luck keeping the team in Nashville. It sucks to lose your team. It can't hurt to call and email Bettman, but if you really want to keep the team you have to get people to go to the games. You need to get support for local businesses. Don't give the new owner an excuse to take the team elsewhere.

Good luck keeping the team in Nashville. It sucks to lose your team. It can't hurt to call and email Bettman, but if you really want to keep the team you have to get people to go to the games. You need to get support for local businesses. Don't give the new owner an excuse to take the team elsewhere.

THIS is the sort of article Glennon needs to keep writing, and it's finally some encouraging news. Will it be enough? That remains to be seen, but articles like this will hopefully stimulate others to "join the war effort."